As a writer and director who’s found success with both Marveland DC productions, James Gunn’s opinions carry some weight. Recently, the director voiced his take on why the two comic book universes are consistently some of Hollywood’s biggest hits, and CGI sure has a lot to do with that.
Gunn recently wrapped up filmingGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, his third entry in the MCU, as well as this year’sThe Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which will be heading to Disney Plus. The director also saw his first superhero TV series,Peacemaker, do incredibly well on HBO Max, and a recent interview goes in-depth about what makes many of his projects do so well, including the very lovable Eagly.
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His revelation came during a special segment for Deadline alongsidePeacemakerVFX SupervisorBetsy Paterson, with the two discussing the role CGI plays in making these superhero adventures work. In Gunn’s case, he’s quite upfront about it, saying, “Why are Marvel movies so popular today when they weren’t in the past?’ I tell you 100% from me, 100% because the VFX got to the place where we can make it believable that a metal guy is flying around.” Dismissing the discussion of what’s better between CGI or practical effects as a confessed fan of both, Gunn simply narrowed it all down to what a particular scene calls for.
Gunn doubled down on hisPeacemakerresults, highlighting that the HBO series contains “some of the best visual effects” in television history. This includes creating Eagly from the ground up after some failed attempts at using a real live eagle as Christopher Smith’s sidekick. TheGuardians of the Galaxydirector also referred to how his working relationship with Paterson came to be, having first collaborated with her on Gunn’s twoScooby-Doofilms.
Recently,Top Gun: Maverick’s overwhelming successhad once again called into question the excessive usage of CGI effects in place or practical ones, with Tom Cruise’s latest blockbuster containing so little VFX artistry in it. Nevertheless, Gunn does have a point, as creating many of Marvel or DC’s unique creatures would simply be impossible, especially now that the MCU is getting more cosmic with films likeThor: Love and Thunder.
As his fans would know, Gunn is also a fan of quality animationsuch asRick and Morty, enough so to get pranked by his own film crew on theGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3sets. Like Gunn says, there’s a time and place for everything and the MCU is the perfect playground for some of the most talented and hard-working VFX artists in the world, many of whom will have plenty of work in his swan song Marvel Studios flick.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3is scheduled to premiere in theaters on May 5th, 2023.
